Welcome

Welcome to the POZ Community Forums, a round-the-clock discussion area for people with HIV/AIDS, their friends/family/caregivers, and
others concerned about HIV/AIDS. Click on the links below to browse our various forums; scroll down for a glance at the most recent posts; or join in the
conversation yourself by registering on the left side of this page.

Privacy Warning: Please realize that these forums are open to all, and are fully searchable via Google and other search engines. If you are HIV positive
and disclose this in our forums, then it is almost the same thing as telling the whole world (or at least the World Wide Web). If this concerns you, then do not use a
username or avatar that are self-identifying in any way. We do not allow the deletion of anything you post in these forums, so think before you post.

The information shared in these forums, by moderators and members, is designed to complement, not replace, the relationship between an individual and his/her own
physician.

All members of these forums are, by default, not considered to be licensed medical providers. If otherwise, users must clearly define themselves as such.

Forums members must behave at all times with respect and honesty. Posting guidelines, including time-out and banning policies, have been established by the moderators
of these forums. Click here for “Am I Infected?” posting guidelines. Click here for posting guidelines pertaining to all other POZ community forums.

We ask all forums members to provide references for health/medical/scientific information they provide, when it is not a personal experience being discussed. Please
provide hyperlinks with full URLs or full citations of published works not available via the Internet. Additionally, all forums members must post information which are
true and correct to their knowledge.

Finished Reading This? You can collapse this or any other box on this page by clicking the
symbol in each box.

Welcome to Am I Infected

Welcome to the "Am I Infected?" POZ forum.

New members -- those who have posted three or fewer messages -- are permitted to post questions and responses, free of charge (make them count!). Ongoing participation in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- posting more than three questions or responses -- requires a paid subscription.

A seven-day subscription is $9.99, a 30-day subscription is $14.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.

Anyone who needs to post more than three messages in the "Am I Infected?" forum -- including past, present and future POZ Forums members -- will need to subscribe, with secure payments made via PayPal.

There will be no charge to continue reading threads in the "Am I Infected?" forum, nor will there be a charge for participating in any of the Main Forums; Meds, Mind, Body & Benefits; and Off Topic Forums. Similarly, all POZ pages, including our "HIV Transmission and Risks" and "Am I Infected? (A Guide to Testing for HIV)" basics, will remain accessible to all.

NOTE: HIV testing questions will still need to be posted in the "Am I Infected?" forum; attempts to post HIV symptoms or testing questions in any other forums will be considered violations of our rules of membership and subject to time-outs and permanent bans.

To learn how to upgrade your Forums account to participate beyond three posts in the "Am I Infected?" Forum, please click here.

Thank you for your understanding and future support of the best online support service for people living with, affected by and at risk for HIV.

Author
Topic: Hellooo....(rapid oral swab test) (Read 8135 times)

Well about two weeks ago I recieved unprotected oral sex from a women, I did not give her oral sex and there was no other sex contact other than fondeling and kissing. When I gotg sick I called her and ask agin if she had any thing I shouldbe worried about and she old me she tested a month ago and was neg. (-) for HIV. I have become very sick with strong mono type symptoms and swollen lymphe nodes in my neck, groin and arm pits. I was told that there was no risk of getting HIV from recieving oral sex from several threads like this one, but when I spoke with the doctor about my sickness and tested negative for mono and about fifteen other possibilities he said I was at risk. I have two kids and I am very worried, I did not perform oral sex or have any othe type of sexual activity with her because I was trying to be safe but now I am worried I wont be able to see my kids grow up... Please give me some answers I knwo I have to wait to be tested still....

Well, dude I disagree with your doctor here. You weren't at risk of contracting HIV because you copped a hummer from a lady of the night. Thus you don't need to test as a result of this incident.

Nevertheless, all sexually active people should have a full STD screen at least twice a year. A full STD screen includes an HIV antibody test. You need to know that STD's such as chlamydia and my old friend gonorrhoea are much more prevalent and transmissible than HIV. If it's been a while since your last full screen or if you've not had one before, you might want to make an appointment to do so with your doctor or at your local clinic.

Symptoms mean nothing when it comes to diagnosing HIV. Please take the time to read our Welcome Thread to learn more about how HIV is and is not transmitted.

Thank you for your opinion, truely I dont want to be positive, I guess what I am really afraid about is the fact that she would play with her self and then with me and I am worried something was transmitted because of all of the swollen lymph nodes in my body (a lot) and the mono type sickness coming just barley two weeks after and I have tested negative for everything else

Nevertheless, (leaving out the parts where I said "dude" and "hummer") my advice to you is still the same. You weren't at risk from this encounter and you should have an STD screen twice a year if you're sexually active with men or women.

I was not concerned at all abot HIV until I became ill with these mono like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes in neck, groin, & armpits (which is almost unheard of) muscle aches, and diareah. I have been tested for everything under the sun and they have found nothing. it is too early to test for HIV. I did request the other girl to get tested again. She was tested in july but had also slept with some one in july so that definitly doesnt make me feel better. I dont think I would worry as much if the medical condtions I was having had an answer to them. Ususally when a lymph node is swollen it is a sign of infection on the side of the body or area of the body the infection is present, but the fact they are every where and I feel so sick with no answers has me scared to death. I was very drunk that night and regret the situation now.. I always thought if I was the one recieving oral sex I was safe. I am very worried now.

Really, HIV is not a concern here. I appreciate that you feel unwell and have swollen glands, but you need to understand that just about anything can cause swollen glands.

Including prodding and poking them. You know what I mean.

Mononucleosis or glandular fever is not the same as ARS. It's a long term thing, whereas ARS (acute retroviral syndrome) comes and goes over a short period of time.But ARS is not an issue here, because none of the sexual encounters you describe are a risk for HIV infection.

But don't take my word for it. Have a full STD screen including an HIV antibody test 13 weeks from the date of your sexual experience. Then come back and report the negative test result.

Thanks for the response, I sure do hope I can come back in 3months and say I am negative. That woudl so rock... I am going to get a full std check today including HIV just for know of it and then I will get tested in 3 months if I am in fact neg at this point I do believe I have practiced safe safe prior to this but now Iam questioning everything... Anxiety sure does suck ....

However, I don't see any cause for concern in relation to HIV from this incident you are concerned about. And there is certainly nothing HIV-specific in the symptoms which you have been experiencing.

Discuss them with your doctor if they persist.

There are of course other STDs out there and if you're sexually active it's always a good idea to regularly have a full STD panel done. I don't see any need for HIV testing in relation to this incident but if you need the inevitable negative result at 13 weeks to give you peace of mind then go ahead and test.

I feel I can with some confidence say you are condemned to living to see your kids grow up including their adolescence. No kidding.

As the one receiving oral sex you were safe where hiv is concerned. Absolutely. In fact, going down on a woman - either way - isn't a risk for hiv infection. Hiv is a very fragile, difficult to transmit virus. There are very few hiv positive women in the lesbian community because the the sexual activities between two women present very few, if any, hiv risks.

If you've never been tested for hiv before, you should test because testing is the only way to know your hiv status. You can't go by your partner's test results. Anyone who is sexually active should be having regular, routine, complete sexual health care screening at least once a year. This includes, but is not limited to, hiv testing. As long as any anal or vaginal intercourse you've engaged in has been with condoms, you can fully expect your hiv test to come back with negative results. But you do NOT even need to test over this specific incident.

Hiv is a very fragile virus that does not remain in an intact, infectable state when in the mouth and exposed to saliva. Saliva has over a dozen different enzymes and proteins that destroy the outer surface of the virus and it needs that surface intact in order to infect. This is why saliva is NOT infectious and you will not have become infected from her going down on you. Please rest assured that this does not happen. Also, the outer area of the vaginal area does not have the cells present that hiv needs to latch on to. These cells are found deep in the vagina on the cervix. Between those two factors, you need not worry about hiv.

Really, you do not have to worry about hiv in this situation - regardless of your partner's hiv status.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Well here is the bad news, I developed a chancre sore in the anal area which is along the lines of the symptoms of syphilis( swollen glands all over). This would have created an opening in which the hiv virus could have passed through. Syphilis can be passed during oral sex even if you are recieving it. There is link between syphilis and HIV. I think to tell someone that they can not get HIV through ecieving oral sex could be a reason it is spreading if the person is not aware that they have syphilis or HIV. I am very very very scared right now. I really thought I was safe. I did have an HIV test today just to see if any prior activity could have been a factor but it was negative. I feel like I am loosing my mind here. i am sooo worried.

Yes, it is possible to get syphilis through oral sex. It is much more contagious than hiv is. If she had a chancre in her mouth, it does not increase your chance of hiv transmission - if she is even hiv positive - because it does not change the fact that you do not have the right kind of cells present in your outer genitalia that hiv needs to come into contact with in order to infect.

Even if you already had the sore present when she gave you oral, this is still not a risk for hiv transmission because saliva is not infectious.

You will not have become infected with hiv through another woman going down on your no matter what sort of spin you want to put on it. Saliva is not infectious.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Has the chancre you refer to been formally identified by a doctor and have you have the blood tests necessary to diagnose syphilis? Syphilis is a very serious but 100% curable infection. It's important that you have this seen to properly.

Well, I did go to the doctors this evening and he was wow.. how can I say, a true ripp off... I called before I went to see if they did std testing and if they tested for syphilis, and they said yes come in. I told him about my situation and my symptoms, he said because it was rare he though t I didnt have it... I was like ok, are you going to test me for it? he said he didnt want to have to send it off to the lab so late.. I was so mad, here I am sick as a dog, lymph nodes swollen all over the place and he "doesnt feel like it" I basicly had to pay the guy $100 bucks to talk to me and tell me he didnt feel like it. I will try to go get tested this coming week.. please keep your fingers crossed. I thought syphilis wasnt even in exsistence any more until I started reading more about my symptoms, and i didnt know how it was spread. I am hoping that its not the case. I did not see any open sores on my partner niether on her lips or around her vaginal area and that was no where near my anus. I think what worries me the most are the lymph nodes swollen all over and the weight loss of ten pounds in two weeks. That started after contact with herTHIS SUCKS!!!!!!

You're right, it does suck. The syphilis tests are simple blood tests (usually two of them) and if you have any reason to think you may have the infection you need to get tested. As I said, syphilis is a very serious but 100% curable disease. You should know that, like HIV, syphilis has a three month window period.

Ok I am back.. I posted about a week ago about a possible syphillis/ HIV infection.It turned out the bump was a rectal abcess..(nice..huh) I am still very terrified. I have had every test done imaginable and they have all been negative so far. Waiting for 2 more months seems like forever for an HIV test.Unfortuantly the swollen lymph nodes (in several areas) have not gone away, although the abcess is going away slowly...(yeah)It is really hard when you also get conflicting answers.. I have noticed on here, some people (alot like my self) are suffering from terrible anxiety, even though we are really trying to listen to what is being said to us on this forum. I think we keep coming back asking the questions because of the symptoms, the time frame, guilt and shame, and the biggest of all the fear of the unknown. I do belive for my self it really is just a way to let a big fat secret off your chest that you really can not confide in some one else because of fear of emarassment and rejection.

I did want to put this in here only because it is one of the many I have found that keep me scared to death. It would be so awsome just to have my test results and have them be negative and go on not thinking about it and learning from my mistakes.( it seems I keep making them )

A. Yes, it is possible for you to become infected with HIV through receiving oral sex, but certainly the risk is very low. If your partner has HIV, blood from their mouth may enter the urethra (the opening at the tip of the penis), the vagina, the anus, or directly into the body through small cuts or open sores. While no one knows exactly what the degree of risk is, evidence suggests that the risk is less than that of unprotected anal or vaginal sex.

All of the "What If's" drive me crazy... I hate the fact that I really am trying to find out what is wrong with my body and nothing shows up.. I didnt even think of HIV until I was having real pain.

I also would like to say to some of you who post in response to these questions... I can not even imagine how hard it must be to be living with HIV. I am proud of your courage to take care of your self and try to help other people by answering questions. I do see some "tough love" or the "get on with it" attitude But please try and keep in mind that we are really just terrified and trying to find some compasion and a person to confide in... I for one do not have a close network of friends and I do not have family to suport me in times of saddness or anxiety. So even if you have told some one 10,000 time they are not at risk, please keep in mind they maybe reading things contrary else where for one and they also may need some one to just say ... I understand your fear, hang in there and try and relax. I did get some medication for my anxiety and it seems to help a bit.Still trying to hang in there for another 2 months!! Sorry for the ultra long post!! (but hey , it did feel good)

I've merged your new thread into your original thread - where you should post all your additional thoughts or questions. It helps us to help you when you keep all your additional thoughts or questions in one thread.

If you need help finding your thread when you come here, click on the "Show own posts" link under your name in the left-hand column of any forum page.

Please also read through the Welcome Thread so you can familiarize yourself with our Forum Posting Guidelines. Thank you for your cooperation.

Quote

But please try and keep in mind that we are really just terrified and trying to find some compasion and a person to confide in...

Do you really think we don't realise that? Many of us don't have people to talk about our illness with. We live from blood test to blood test to monitor our health - every three months and more frequently if there is a problem. You're preaching to the choir here mate.

But the bottom line as far as your complaint goes is - this isn't an anxiety support forum. It's an hiv transmission and testing information forum. The people who have such high anxiety over no risk incidents or conclusive test results are outside our remit. We can only do so much here before it becomes apparent that a person needs face-to-face help and support from a mental health care professional. You can't get that on the internet.

The oral swab tests are just as accurate as any other test. In fact, they tend to be a little more sensitive and have a higher rate of false positives associated with them.

You don't need to test over getting a blowjob. People do not become infected with hiv through getting a blowjob. Not one person ever has in over twenty five years of this pandemic and trust me, you won't be the first.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

OK I see your point there... I guess if some people are just over the with it, its a bit hard to keep being a broken record.Onto another question that I ws wondering about, I have noticed that in the lesbian community there are not alot of cases of HIV, but I find that shocking because when women are getting over there period and they are not full on bleeding dont they still have small traces of blood in there vaginal fluids? Also in the cases of those who have gotton HIV was it through Oral transmission? I am a bit confused on this topic...My doctor keeps telling me I am at risk... I think he just like to scare the Crap out of me.

Oral receiving is no risk. Oral giving is small and vanishing. No doctor has ever been sure that it has happened just by give oral. Those statements are usually given by persons to embarrassed to say all the risks they have had. You are correct, some doctors believe in SCARE tactics.

You are correct, there are few hiv positive lesbians. Many of them became infected through needle use and some became infected through having intercourse with men. Don't let that last bit surprise you; human sexuality is not 100% one way or the other.

You did not have a risk of hiv infection through getting a blowjob, regardless of what your doctor wants to scare you with. He probably hasn't a clue, can't be bothered to educate himself with up to date information, and is erring on the side of caution. We DO have a clue and we're telling you - no risk.

"...health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but as a human right to be fought for." Kofi Annan

Nymphomaniac: a woman as obsessed with sex as an average man. Mignon McLaughlin

HIV is certainly character-building. It's made me see all of the shallow things we cling to, like ego and vanity. Of course, I'd rather have a few more T-cells and a little less character. Randy Shilts

Well, I hope you all are right, today I have a fever and bad sore throat, still alot of lymph nodes swollen in my body, it sucks. My while body aches and I have the headache from hell... I guess it must have been the timing that has be crapping my pants..Still no answers on whats wrong with me and the whie blood cells are normal..... Now thats really wierd. As far as being emarrassed to admit anything else I did, I cant say that I did do anything other than kissing and fondling ... I will keep you all posted on what the final out come is.. and if you are all right I will blow you a big fat Negative kiss lol